Door holder



IN V EN TOR W. ROBERTS DOOR HOLDER Filed May 26. 1924 Dec. 1 1925.

' WITNESSES )zxzwaf/ A TTORNE YS Patented Dec. 1, 1925.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM ROBERTS, OF SPRINGFIELD, OHIO.

DOOR HOLDER.

Application filed May 26, 1924f serial No. 716,028.

To all 10 from z'tmag concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM Rename, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Springfield, in the county of Clark and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and use ful Improvements in Door Holders, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in door holders, and consists in the combinations, constructions and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of the invention" is to provide a simple and reliable door holder which is adapted to be actuated automatically when a door to which the holder is applied is swung to open position to hold the door positively although releasably, against swinging back to closed position until the holder has been actuated manually to effect release. of the door. I.

,A further. object of the invention is to provide a holder of the character described which comprises but relatively few parts, is not likely to get out of order easily and does not detract from the appearancev of a door to which it is applied. j

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a door and frame construction which is equipped with a holder embodying the invention. I

Figure 2 is a perspective group, view showing certain ofthe elements of theholdor separated from one another.

Figure 3 is a perspective group view showing certain other elements of the holder detached from one another.

Figure 4: is a fragmentary perspective view, showing the upper end portion of a stick for actuating a latch which is comprised in the holder.

In Figure 1, the numeral 1 designates the upper cross member of a door frame in which a door 2 is mounted, as by means of hinges such as those indicated at 3 to swing outwardly from the plane of the frame to open position, as illustrated in Figure 1.

A holder embodying the invention in the form now preferred by me comprises a latch bart which is provided adjacent to one of its ends with a transverse opening 5. The latch bar 4 is pivotally supported on a vertical pivot element which may be a bolt 6 extending through vertically aligned openings. in the vertically spaced ears 7 which extend laterally from the attaching plate portion 8 of alatch bar supporting bracket. The bolt 6 extends through the opening in one of the ears 7 then loosely through the opening 5 of the latch bar and finally through the opening in the other ear 7 to effeet the just mentioned pivotal connection between the latch. bar and its supporting bracket, a nut 9 perferably being placed in H engagement with the free end portion of the bolt 6 to cooperate with the head of the latter in holding the bolt against axial movement in respect to the ears 7. The attaching plate portion 8 of the latch bar supporting bracket is provided withopenings 10 which preferably are non-circular in cross sectional contour and are adapted to engage with correspondingly shaped portlons 11 ofbolts such asthat indicated at 12 in Figure 3, the. bolts being extended through the openings 10 and through openings in the upper end portions of the door 2 and each being proto extend slidably through a guide bracketv 15 which depends from the upper cross m cmber 1 of the door frame.

The guide. bracket 15 comprises a body portion 16 which is rotatably received in an opening 17 in an attaching plate 18 and is enlarged at one end as indicated at 16 to engage rotatably with a counterbore 19 at the inner end of the opening 17, whereby the bracket 15 will be swiveled in the plate 18 and will be held against displacement from the latter when the attaching plate 18 has been secured by screws 20 or like fastening devices to the upper cross member 1 of the door frame with the enlarged portion 16 proximate to the lower face of the upper cross member 1 of the door frame. The

body 16 of the guide bracket carries a pair of spaced apart depending ears 21 between which the latch bar 4 may slide. The ears 21 are )rovided with rooves 22 extendin b b Cir in their inner faces transversely of the ears and adapted to receive the lateral edge portions of the latch bar 47, whereby the latch 'bar a is held against any appreciable movement in a vertical plane in respect to the guide bracket 15 but is permitted to' move axially in a horizontal plane in respect to the guide bracket 15, the grooves 22 and the space between the ears 21 forming a guidewav in which the latch bar a may slide.

A gravity latch member 23 is pivotally supported intermediate its length between the cars 21 on a horizontal pivot element 24 which is si'ipported in horizontally aligned openings 25 in the lower end portions of the ears 21. The openings 25 are located. at a level lower than that of the grooves 22. The latch 23 is enlarged and provided with a tlat head 2 L at one end.

The latch 23 is formed with the upper and lower walls thereof beveled oppositely at the other end of the latch to provide a relatively sharp edged end portion 25 adapted to engage with a transverse notch 26 in the lower face of the latch bar st. The end portion 2a of. the latch is of greater weight than the end portion 25 and the latch therefore will be actuated continuously by gravity to remain in position to engage with the lower face of the latch bar 4: at its end 25 and the latch 23 will therefore automatically engage with the notch 26 when the latch bar lhas been slid axially in one direction to a. certain position in respect to the guide bracket 15. The side wall of the notch 26 that is proximate to the free end of the latch bar at lies in a plane extending at a slight angle to the direction of length of the bar 1 while the side wall of the notch 26 that is nearestto the pivoted end of the bar 4 lies in a plane extending at an acute angle to the plane of the firstside wall of the notch 26. The bar 4 therefore may slide freely in one direction in .the guideway of the guide bracket 15 but will be positively and secure ly held against sliding in the opposite direction in the guideway when the latch is in engagement with the notch 26.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood. \Vh'en the door 2 is swung to an open position the latch bar l will be pulled by the swinging door in the guideway of the guide bracket 15 so long as the door is swinging toward an open position. The loose pivotal connection of the'slide bar at with the latch bar supporting bracket carried by the door and the swivel connection of the guide bracket 15 with the upper cross member of the door frame operates to permit sliding movement of the bar 4 in the guideway of the guide bracket when the door is swung to an open position without any binding action on the bar t or on the parts relatively to which the bar l moves. When the door 2 has been swung to a desirable open position, the latch 23 will engage with the notch 26 in the latch bar 4 and the door will be positively and so: curely held against return movement to closed position. The latch 23-3 may be swung from the position illustrated in Figure l to position to release the bar 4 so that the door may bepermitted to return to closed position by means of a pull string or cord 26 which is attached at one end to an attaching ring or eyelet 27 on the upper side of the head 24: of. the latch L3 and is tln'feaded through guide rings or eyelets 28 which are secured to the door frame, the other end portion of the pull string depending in position to be grasped conveniently and preferably being provided with a knob or handle, as at 29. The latch 23 also may be actuated to effect release of the bar 2i by means of a Stick 30 having the upper end wall thereof roughened as indicated at 21 to frictionally engage with the serrated lower face 32 of the head 24 so that a push may be exerted on the head 24 by means of the stick v0 and the latch 23 thus swung about the axis of its pivot 24 to move the end 25 of the latch out of engagement with the notch 26. It is to be observed that the inclination of the second named side wall of the notch 26 in respect to the vertical is such that the door 2 must be moved slightly beyond the normal open position thereof before the latch 23 can be actuated to disengage the notch. The door will be positively held against swinging from open to closed position. until the latch has beenactuated to disengage the notch 26, even though a relatively great force may be exerted on the door tending to move it to a closed position.

It also is to be observed that no stress is placed on the parts of the device when the door is swung to an open position or toward closed position after the latch has been moved out of engagement with the notch 26. If desired, a series of notches identical with the notches 26 may be provided in the lower face of the bar l so that the door may be releasably and positively held against swinging to its closed position from any one of a plurality of positions.

The device is particularly well. adapted for use inconnection with fire doors or doors which are provided for school houses and other structures in which large numbers of )ersons congregate.

bviously, my invention is susceptible of embodiment in forms other than that illustrated in the accompanying drawing and I therefore consider as my own all such modifications and adaptations of the form of the device herein described as fairly fall within the scope ofthe appended claim.

I claim A door holder comprising a bracket adapt- 'ed to be attached to a door adjacent to the upper inner corner of the latter, a vertical pivot element carried by said bracket, a latch bar having an opening in one end portion thereof through which said vertical pivot element extends, a guide bracket attachable to the under face of the upper cross member of the frame of said door and having a guide Way in which said bar may slide, said guide bracket being rotatable about a vertical axis, said bar having a transverse notch in its lower face at a certain point along its length, said notch having the wall thereof proximate to the free end of the bar inclined slightly in respect to the horizontal and having the other wall thereof inclined slightly toward the free end of the bar and at a relatively sharp angle to the horizontal, and a gravity latch pivotally supported on said guide bracket in" position to engage with said notch when the door has been swung to open position and to then cooperate with said bar to hold said door against return from open position to its closed position, said latch having the free end port-ion thereof enlarged and rela tively heavy, said enlarged end portion of the latch having a serrated lower face.

lVILLIAM ROBERTS. 

